Gazella saudiya is sometimes treated as a subspecies of Gazella dorcas but, on the basis of genetic analyses, Hammond et al. (2001) maintained that G. saudiya was distinct from G. dorcas, though closely related to it. See also Groves (1988) and Grubb (2005).

Justification:
There have been no specimens collected or sightings of Gazella saudiya for several decades despite frequent surveys in areas of former habitat. Hammond et al. (2001) showed that three reported captive populations of G. saudiya represent different species or hybrids. Systematic investigations of privately owned populations throughout the Arabian Peninsula provided no evidence of surviving G. saudiya. Systematic investigations of captive collections throughout the Arabian Peninsula have failed to locate any captive individuals.

This species formerly occurred in the Arabian Peninsula with several recorded sites from Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Reports of its occurrence in Iraq are unconfirmed and doubtful (Mallon and Kingswood 2001). Most records are from the western part of Saudi Arabia (Dunham et al. 2001).

It was reported to be Extinct in the Wild in the 1980s and subsequent reports of captive specimens in collections in the Arabian Peninsula have been shown to refer to other taxa or to hybrids (Hammond et al. 2001).